Cushioned railway-crossing.



P. B. HARRIS.

CUSHIONED RAILWAY CROSSING.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-22,1916.

1,239,269. PatentedSept. 4,1917.

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PHIL B. HARRIS, or Los AnenLEs, CALIFORNIA.

ousnronnn RAILWAY-CROSSING.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented S ept. 4:, 1917.

Application filed. November 22, 1916. Serial No. 132,729.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PHIL B. HARRIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Cushioned RailwayeOrossing, of which the following is a specification.

One of the principal objects of this .in

vention is to minimize the blows and vibra tions resulting when rolling stock passes over railway crossings so as to prolong the period of usefulness of the crossings.

Another object incidental to the foregoing object is to minimize the noise resulting when the rolling stock passes over the crossings.

Another object is to effect the foregoing by a simple and reliable construction.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the subjoined detail description.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a crossing constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmental elevation of Fig. 1, portions being shown in section for clearness of illustration.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation on line indicated by 00 -00 Figs. 1 and 2, looking toward the left.

There are provided rails 1, 2 arranged in pairs, each of the rails of each pair intersecting each of the rails of the other pair. At their intersections the rails 1, 2 are provi ded with sockets or ways comprising curved segmental portions 3 and radially extending portions 4., the curved segmental portions being substantially. vertical and the radially extending portions being provided with downwardly and inwardly tapered faces 5.

The sockets 3, a are provided with shiftably mounted intersection inserts comprising curved segmental portions 6 fitting the seat portions 3 and also comprising wings 7 fitting along their sides the radial socket portions 4.

The segmental insert portions 6 are spaced apart from plates 8, closing the lower ends of the sockets, by compressible or yielding cushions 9. These cushions 9 may be of any suitable yielding non-metallic material that is compressible within itself by the weight imposed on it when rolling stock passes over the crossing, and these cushions may be formed, for example, of rubber or the like of suflicient hardness to prevent an undesirable amount of deflection of the inserts 6, 7, but sufficiently compressible, to allow said inserts to be deflected to a slight extent as shown to an exaggerated degreein Fig. of the drawings when the wheelsrest on said inserts.

If the cushions 6, 7 were made of non yielding material instead of, as they are, of yielding material, the blow on the crossing would be substantially as great as though said cushions were omitted and the inserts rested directly on the plates 8 for the shocks could not so readily be absorbed by a nonyielding material.

The rails 1, 2 are provided with grooves 10 and the inserts 6, 7 are provided in alinement with said grooves with grooves 11, said grooves 10, 11 accommodating the flanges of the wheels running over the crossing as is well understood.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 3, it is noted that if the constructor so desire the bottom faces of the grooves of the inserts 6,

'7 may be beveled from the peripheries of the inserts upward toward the axes of said inserts so that when the tread a; of the wheel is at the intersecting portions of said grooves, the flange Z) of the wheel will ride onto the inclined groove bottom. sufficiently to support the wheel without deflection of said wheel. This feature in itself of supporting the wheels on the flanges at the intersection of the rails is not new, but when used in connection with the yielding cushions is advantageous, the entire combination thus producing different results than obtainable by prior devices of this character.

In practice, as clearly shown to an exaggerated degree in Fig. 3, when a wheel runs onto the insert 6, 7 the weight of the rolling stock causes the insert to compress the cushion 9, and the cushion thus yielding neutralizes to some extent the shock received by the insert when the wheel strikes it so as to minimize the blow on the crossing. The wings 7 prevent the inserts from rotating and at the same time allow the inserts to be readily removed if their removal or the removal of the cushions becomes desirable.

Since the blow is reduced in severity by yielding of the cushions, it is clear that incidentally the noise will be minimized. Thus it is seen that the period of usefulness of the crossing will be maximized and persons in the vicinity of the crossing Will not be inconvenienced by noise heretofore produced when rolling stock traverses said crossing.

I claim:

1. A railway crossing comprising intersecting rails, there being a socket at the intersection of the rails having curved segmental portions and having radially extending portions, an insert shiftable vertically in said socket, said insert having curved segmental portions fitting the curved segmental portions of the socket and having Wings extending into the radially extending portions of said socket, and a cushion in the socket beneath the insert.

2. A railway crossing comprising intersecting rails, there being a socket at the intersection of said rails, an insert shiftable vertically in said socket, the rails and insert being provided With alined grooves and the grooves in the insert having their bottom faces aslant upward from the periphery of the insert to the axis thereof and a yielding non-metallic body in the socket beneath the insert. 7

Signed at Los Angeles, California, this 15th day of November 1916.

PHIL B. HARRIS.

Witnesses:

GEORGE H. HILESS, A. F. SCHMIDTBAUER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents, Washington, D. 0. 

